Tag: soap

For the December 2016 Great Cakes Soapworks challenge, I decided on the Dragon’s Blood fragrance oil from WSP. And three colors: red, white, and black. (perfect for Dragon’s Blood. Don’t you think?)

The technique is pretty straight forward. Incorporate a tiger stripe into your design. My soap is a simple one using the whole soap batch and pouring from one side and holding it mostly from one angle.

The soap batter needs to be the perfect consistency. If it is too runny or too thick it will make the outcome of the pour less than desirable. This batch worked fairly well for me. I tried another batch using the tiger striped technique using several different colors. It was a lot like Goldy Locks and The Three Bears. One color was too runny, another was just plain

I had tried another batch using this tiger striped technique using several different colors. It was a lot like Goldy Locks and The Three Bears. One color was too runny, another was just plain gloppy, and the third was just about right. So I know that the consistency of the soap batter is extremely important!

Even though this batch was poured fairly evenly you will notice there seems to be three separate pours in the finished soap bar. I’m not sure how I managed that. But the Tiger Stripes came out rather nicely.

When I received the email from Amy Warden’s GreatCakeSoapWorks Soap Challenge for September I knew I had to try it. I’ve been following the soap challenges for a few months and this one was one I wanted to try. So here is my story…

The challenge was the Piping Technique. Right away I knew I was making a cupcake. And since I had just received a new bottle of Fresh Cut Roses fragrance oil … that was my fragrance of choice.

Pink. My Rose Scented Cupcake was going to be Pink and White. The challenge I saw before me was piping the roses. I’ve never really given piped roses a try. But the youtube videos made it look so-o-o easy. So piping the roses was going to be my first task. I have to say…. they weren’t that difficult once I got the hang of it….and my batter was almost thick enough to pipe. I say “almost” because I was so afraid it was going to be too thick so I started piping too soon. You all should know that soap batter has a mind of it’s own…especially when you give it strict instructions to behave because you have a contest and you have a time limit!

The roses weren’t my problem, believe it or not. I was pretty happy with them.

It was the base of the cupcake that I had a bit of trouble with. Yes, the easiest phase of the cupcake – the base. It started to thicken on me. Why? Ha. Ha. Because I was using a floral fragrance! I didn’t add the fragrance to the batter for the Roses, so there was no problems piping them. But when I added it to the base, then left it for a second to get out my silicone cupcake molds…. it thickened a bit much on me. The finished cupcakes didn’t look bad. More of a Rustic Victorian Style. Really pretty …. But I really wanted a SMOOTH bottomed cupcake. So on to round 2….

The second batch went pretty well:

-I had gotten my smooth bottomed cupcake like I wanted. And my roses were already pipped from before so they were good to go.

-The white frosting was piped nicely and neatly (even though I’m using a floral fragrance). I think I’ve found a trick. But I’ll have to test this theory out on the next cupcake.

– I added the roses I thought were the best.

-The leaves were placed where I thought they should go.

And then…. I remembered. I had forgotten the Glitter! So besides the missing glitter… I think the cupcakes came out just as I was hoping! I know a few spots where I could use some work on my piping technique. But I am very happy with my Rose Scented Cupcakes! So here is the picture I’m sending in for my challenge:

I enjoyed the process so much that I’ll be making more cupcakes in the near future. Next up is Lavender Scented Cupcakes. Can you hear my mind swirling with ideas?

Thank you for allowing me to participate. I’ve had loads of fun in the process.

Handmade Soap deserves special care because it does not contain chemicals to keep them hard like most commercially available “beauty bars” do. Naturally made soap needs to be handled for the luxurious product that it is.

When leaving the shower, place the soap on a soap dish so it dries between uses. Handmade soaps have the ability to draw moisture from the air (which is great for your skin – not so great for your new bar of soap). Ever see a “beauty bar” after it has set on your sink for a couple weeks? It is dry and cracked! Handmade soaps still contains the NATURAL glycerin within the soap that the store brand beauty bars do not. Glycerin helps moisturize your skin and …. you guessed it – continues to draw moisture from the air.

I’ve thought of making my own soap dish but haven’t gotten up the nerve to try it. Any Soap Dish will work (homemade or store bought) as long as your soap isn’t sitting in a puddle of water or sitting in a humid shower.

I have already wrapped plenty of soap for the month of June… and yet, I am still wrapping soaps! Don’t get me wrong… I don’t mind wrapping the soaps or even making the soaps. It’s the clean up I’m not too fond of. 😉 I had my toddler visit me in my craft room and he wanted to use my hole puncher to “cut paper”. So I had tiny paper circles (along with my pile of papers) all over my floor! It kept him happy so I could keep working. There’s nothing wrong with that. Cut away!

I’ve been in my soap room working on a new technique I’ve recently learned about. I wanted to share the photos of my results with everyone.

Artisan Soap

My first batch was scented with Bubble Gum Phthalate Free fragrance oil. It’s still a little soft…. but I couldn’t WAIT to cut it!

The swirls came out pretty nicely considering it was my first go around. I’m used to cold process where the swirling is a little easier.

And with these test batches I’ll be able to use up some fragrance oils I’ve got floating around! Create some more space so I can fill them up with …. more oils, of course! 😉

My recipe used a good amount of Olive oil. That would explain the green tint to my bar. I didn’t have any titanium dioxide mixed and ready so I left that portion alone, but I did want to incorporate a red for the “bubble gum”. Specifically, I wanted to test my coloring and swirling technique. I’m pretty happy with the outcome. However, I know that I can do better with a little practice. Now, I wonder what I’m going to try with my second batch. Hmm…

I’m wrapping soaps again today! And today it’s shampoo bars. The packaging was inspired by a fellow blogger. SOAPJAM. (Although her packaging is much nicer.) I love how how it adds color and completely covers the soaps. I’ll need a little practice with folding my papers just so to acheive the crisp look I’m going for. However, over-all, not bad.